1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a frozen dessert dispenser for dispensing a frozen dessert such as ice cream or yogurt, and more particularly to an improvement in the structure of a dispensing section of the frozen dessert dispenser.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An ice cream dispenser as shown in FIG. 21 has conventionally been known. The shown dispenser comprises a dispensing cylinder 103 provided at the back of a door 101 of a freezing compartment 100 in a vertical disposition. A piston 102 is provided in the cylinder 103 so as to be slid. A dispensing section 106 is mounted on an outer face of the door 101. The dispensing section 106 has a vertical dispensing passage 105. A valve element 104 is provided to ascend and descend in the dispensing passage 105. A connecting pipe 107 communicating with the passage 105 protrudes into the freezing compartment 100. The connecting pipe 107 has a protruding end connected to a supply opening C of a pack B of ice cream accommodated in an upper interior of the piston 102 of the dispensing cylinder 103.
In the above-described construction, the valve element 104 ascends so that a communicating port 108 between the connecting pipe 107 and the dispensing passage 105 is opened. When a pump 109 is driven so that an operating fluid is supplied to a lower interior of the piston 102, the piston ascends such that the pack B is compressed. Ice cream in the pack B is dispensed through the connecting pipe 107, the communicating port 108 and the dispensing passage 105.
Ice cream adheres to an inner surface of the dispensing passage 105 serving as a dispensing route inside the dispensing section 106 and the connecting pipe 107. This is undesirable from the viewpoint of sanitation. Accordingly, the dispensing passage 105 and the connecting pipe 107 need to be cleaned. In the cleaning, the connecting pipe 107 is pulled out and the dispensing section 106 is detached from the door 101, so that the dispensing route including the dispensing passage 105 and the connecting pipe 107 is cleaned in water.
However, the connecting pipe 107 projects integrally from the dispensing section 106 in the above-described construction. The connecting pipe 107 communicates with the dispensing passage 105 through the communicating port 108. The interior of the dispensing section 106 near the communicating port 108 cannot be sufficiently cleaned. When the interior of the passage 105 is cleaned with a brush, the inner circumferential surface of the passage 105 is sometimes scratched. The scratch results in leakage of ice cream from a gap between the valve element 104 and the passage 105. In view of the above problem, brushes are not used in the cleaning. As a result, the interior of the dispensing section 106 near the communicating port 108 remains uncleaned.